


Day 328

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [328]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27704303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [328]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257
Kudos: 1





	Day 328

Ines hated being in cities. People would laugh when she said that. 

‘Not enough dirt?’ they would say. If they cared about plants as much as Ines did, they would know that cities were a wonderful place to find plants. Most houses had a garden of some sort and there were some herbs that grew much better there than in the wilds. It wasn’t the lack of plants but the overabundance of people that bothered her.

Plants asked only for the barest of necessities: light, water, and earth, and to be protected from pests and parasites. They offered up their gift freely. Fruits were sweet, an offer of a meal in exchange for carrying the seeds to a new patch of ground. They gave and trusted you would give back. People were much worse. People tried to take everything from you and give nothing in return, they were parasites. People were the opposite of plants.

To make matters worse, Kirkwall was a place of exceptional mystery which made the Fade thick with demons here, probably why the Veil felt so thin. If she had her way with it, she would never have come here, but Irving had asked her to seek an apprentice outside Fereldon’s Circle. Something about infusing new blood into the ranks. It was true that they had lost many in Uldred’s uprising but she was never even at the Circle Tower so she didn’t see how taking an outside apprentice would help that at all.

Irving had warned her to present herself to the templates as soon as she arrived as the Kirkwall templars were overly aggressive in their duties. The Gallows were accessible by boat, which was good since it meant she wouldn’t have to worry about navigating the streets. She strode up to a young templar, but before she could introduce herself he greeted her by name.

“Enchanter Ines,” he said. “It has been quite a while.” Ines studied the man’s face and searched her brain but could not conjure up the man’s name. She didn’t know why she should recognize a Kirkwall templar; she had never even been to this city before.

“Indeed it had Sir...”

“Knight Captain Cullen,” said the templar. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember me. I had only recently taken my vows when I was transferred here and you were so often gone from the Circle Tower.”

Ines senses a hint of distaste in that last part. It seemed the rumors about Kirkwall were true.

“My freedom was earned,” she said hotly. “Through many years of dutiful service. Years I now feel heavily in my bones so if we might take this conversation somewhere with chairs.”

Ines would much rather have sat on a mossy stump than any chair a templar might find comfortable but it was still better than standing in the hot sun of the Gallows.

Cullen led her into the night Commander’s office. Meredith was a tall woman who looked like she was holding a lemon in her mouth (a typical templar.) Ines got a very bad feeling from the red glowing sword on her back. It certainly didn’t look like bloodstone and it gave off a hum that sounded like lyrum only the notes were a half-note off key. Whatever was going on here was not good, but it wasn't really Ines’s business. She was here to interview her prospective student and then leave 

“We have accommodations set up for you,” Meredith said. “While you are here, you will not leave that room unless accompanied by one of my templars. You will speak to no one without our permission. In fact, if you try to communicate with anyone in any way without my authorization you will be sent back to Ferelden without conducting your interview.”

Sweet Andraste something was very much not right here. Ines nodded her understanding but Meredith was not, it seemed, finished.

“If anyone tries to talk to you, you will report it immediately or I will count you as complicit in apostasy. You are here for a very specific purpose and no other reason.”

“I understand,” Ines said. She let herself be led to her room and lay on the bead reading. This is why she hated people. They always expected, and delivered the worst. 

The room was very Anders in its décor. Nothing but a bed, bedpan, nightstand, and a tiny window to look through. Ines wondered if this was the best they had to offer, or the best they were willing to offer mages. She was sure any other Circle mage would have complained that the bed was too lumpy or hard, but to Ines, who had spent the past forty years on the road, it was far too soft. She worried that if she lay down the bed would suck her in and she would never be able to get out.

Instead of tempting fate, Ines removed the blankets and arranged them on the ground in a sleep-nest for herself. She read by the meager light of the window until the sun set and then went to sleep. The morning could not come soon enough.


End file.
